Baking
#COOKING: PANDAN CHIFFON CAKE RECIPE
PANDAN CHIFFON CAKE. Something green and lucky to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! This delight isn’t very easy to find in these parts, but is a adored in its native Singapore. I’ve adapted this spongey, fluffy cake for the common Baker, using accessible ingredients. For those who don’t know, Pandan is a fragrant tropical green leafy plant with a creamy, vanilla-like essence, found in Southeast Asia. It is irresistible.
The trick with this cake is gentle folding of the stiff egg whites, into your egg yolk, coconut and pandan batter before transferring to the pan. Ensure also you do not grease your pan as there are enough oils in this cake for it not to stick. And if you don’t have the standard Chiffon cake pan, a Bundt pan will do.
This is decadent and indulgent, but also airy, not overly-sweet. Have tried this a few times and finally got the right height and texture. Cannot wait to make this again! Don’t know where to find Pandan Extract or Powder? Try Amazon or your local Asian grocer.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp flour5 eggs, separated at room temperature
100 ml Coconut Milk
2/3 cup Icing Sugar, divided in two
4 tbsps Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Pandan Extract
1 tsp Dried Pandan Powder
Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven at 340°F.2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt and reserve in small bowl.
3. Place egg whites in one bowl, and egg yolks in another bowl.
4. Using Egg Beater, beat yolks and half of icing sugar till thick and creamy.
5. In a small bowl, mix coconut milk, pandan powder and extract, plus oil.
6. Pour coconut and pandan mixture into egg yolk mixture and beat till smooth. Add flour mixture in gradually, beating till smooth. Set aside.
7. Beat egg whites with Egg Beater, mixing-in Cream of Tartar and remaining Icing Sugar. You will be beating for about 5 minutes at medium-high speed minimum, or till egg whites can form stiff peaks.
8. Using spatula, gentle fold-in egg whites into egg yolk/pandan/coconut batter. Do not overmix.
9. Transfer batter into cake pan, gently doing an “S” motion till even. If you see little air bubbles, use a toothpick through the batter to pop these.
10. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or till toothpick is clean.
11. Cool upside-down for about an hour, allow ventilation. Using spatula, gently trace along edges of pan to let cake out of pan. Store at room temperature in air-tight container or bags for up to 3 days.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: ANDES COOKIES RECIPE
Andes Cookies. Occasionally I get asked, what is an Andes? If you grew-up in the ’80s, you might remember these Crème de Menthe Chocolate Thins with three layers: two of which are milk chocolate and the center, a creamy mint filling. They are wrapped in a shimmery green slip and if you’ve ever been to an Olive Garden, they serve a similar one to you after your meal when you pay your bill. While I was at Target last month, I was delighted to see Andes Mint Chips in the baking section and had to grab a bag. I envisioned making big mounds of chunky cookies crammed with the Mint Chips but also stuffing them each with a larger Mint Thin. I’ve always been of the mindset that it’s better to make one jumbo cookie to save me from having to eat two or three!
If you notice, my cookie recipes don’t contain a lot of sugar. That’s because the Mint Chips and Thin Mints have more than enough in them already. These came out wonderful and will bring these back out again next Holiday!
Ingredients:
2 cups flour10 oz Andes Mint Baking Chips
10 Andes Chocolate Thin Mints
1/4 cup organic raw sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/3 cup whole milk at room temperature
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsps organic vanilla extract
1 tsp freeze-dried coffee
1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions:
1. In large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and soda, plus coffee and Mint Chips.2. In another large bowl, cream butter, vanilla and sugar. Add-in milk, ensuring it is room temperature and beat till blended.
3. Add dry mixture to wet mixture, mixing till just combined, into a dough.
4. On a lined tray, roll dough into 10 separate balls. On each ball, gently press-in one Thin Mint. Freeze for about an hour. This part is imperative as the chocolates will melt and the cookies will spread too much if you don’t freeze them!
5. Pre-heat oven at 350°F.
6. Bake about 12 minutes. These are meant to be a tad underdone, so best not to over-bake.
7. Transfer to cooling rack for 45 minutes and store in air-tight container. Will store for about 3 days. Freeze if not eating right away.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: HONEY BUTTER MOCHI RECIPE
Honey Butter Mochi. I honestly have been non-stop busy for a while now so thought I’d de-stress with a little baking. Butter Mochi are all the rage. Visually, they’re not much to look at, but they are addictive. Think a Blondie, but super-chewy to the bite, the exterior is a thin, crispy crust. I love sweet but not too sweet, so this amount of sweetness is just right for me! Add more if you wish. Have fun with these – they’re super-easy to make! If shopping for rice flour, ensure you are using Glutinous Rice Flour, versus standard Rice Flour which would give you an entirely different texture.
Ingredients:
1 400g bag of Glutinous Rice Flour
1/2 cup organic raw sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 can of Coconut Milk
1 1/2 cups water
Vegetable Oil
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven at 375°F.
2. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. In another large bowl, mix eggs, honey, water, coconut milk and butter.
4. Using hand mixer, combine wet and dry ingredients till smooth.
5..Grease a loaf pan lightly. Pour batter.into pan.
6. Bake one hour or till toothpick comes out smooth.
7. Allow to stand room temperature till cool and cut into squares.
8..Place in air-tight container lined with wax paper for about three days or freeze right away. If freezing, leave out at room temperature 30 minutes before heating in toaster oven. Allow to cool a bit before eating as these get hot.
These also translate beautifully into muffins. Depending on how deep your muffin pans are, you can bake these for about 35-40 minutes. Remember to grease your pans well!
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: PORK FLOSS DOUGHNUTS RECIPE
Pork Floss Doughnuts. If you love bacon on your doughnuts, you’ll love Pork Floss on it! Pork Floss is pork that’s been dehydrated and seasoned to sweet-savoury goodness. Its texture is like a coarse Candy Floss and it’s eaten as a topping, a filling or a snack on its own. We added these to our fave Ghetto Doughnuts with a vanilla icing and the results are magic! So simple! You’ll love these.
Ingredients:
1 tube of Pillsbury Country Biscuit Dough (10 Biscuits)
Topping:
2 tbsps Black Sesame Seeds, toasted
4 tbsps Pork Floss
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tsps Brown Sugar
Coconut Oil
Icing:
1/2 cup Icing Sugar
2 tbsps Whole Milk
1/2 tsp Organic Vanilla Extract
Instructions:
1. Preheat Air Fryer at 360°F for 3 minutes.2. Brush Biscuits with Coconut Oil.
3. Combine Pork Floss, Brown Sugar, Sea Salt and Sesame Seeds.
4. Place in batch 5 pieces at a time and fry 6-7 minutes, flipping once half-way through.
5. Transfer to platter. Brush with more Coconut Oil.
6. Prepare Icing, mixing all ingredients together till smooth.
7 Dip doughnuts into icing.
8. Sprinkle Pork Floss mixture on-top of doughnuts.
9. Allow to stand about 10 minutes before serving.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: ROY CHOI “GHETTO DOUGHNUTS” RECIPE
Roy Choi’s “Ghetto Doughnuts”. We learned of this handy recipe from watching SELENA + CHEF. Who wouldn’t want doughnuts at home in minutes? These are so simple, quick and satisfying. While Roy normally fries these in Crisco, I did these in the Air Fryer with a brush of coconut oil and honestly, they’re still great and if anything healthier than deep frying. Try them out!
Ingredients:
1 tube of Pillsbury Country Biscuit Dough
1/2 cup granulated organic sugar
3 tbsps black sesame, toasted
1 tsp cinnamon
Coconut Oil
Instructions:
1. Preheat Air Fryer at 360°F for 3-4 minutes.2. Dough is already pre-portioned (10) so transfer portions to a platter and brush each side of dough with coconut oil. If you like, you can cut holes in the pieces with a round cutter and use those as doughnut holes.
3. Place 4-5 pieces into Air Fryer at a time. Fry for about 7 minutes.
4. While frying, combine sugar, cinnamon and sesame in a large bowl.
5. Once doughnuts are cooked, brush again with some coconut oil and transfer to sugar mixture. If having trouble adhering, use your hand and sprinkle sugar mixture on-top.
6. Transfer doughnuts to a serving platter.
7. Store in air-tight container for a day at room temperature. Blitz quickly in the microwave before serving for a refresh.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: “LAMINGTONS”
Lamingtons. We’ve always wanted to visit Australia and maybe one day post-Covid we finally will! This chocolate-dipped butter cake, sometimes filled with raspberries and raspberry jam is an Australian favourite. Australia Day is January 26, 2021! Happy Australia Day! 🇦🇺
Note these are extremely sweet and I have adapted the recipe to my tastes. You can increase the sugar in the cake and icing if you wish.
Cake:
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup organic raw sugar
1/3 cup corn starch
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
2 tsps baking powder
2 tsps organic vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup raspberry jam
1/2 cup raspberries
Dessicated coconut, unsweetened
Chocolate Icing:
3 1/4 cups icing sugar
200 grams dark chocolate
1/2 cup or more whole milk
1 tbsp butter
Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.2. In large bowl, cream eggs, butter and sugar.
3. Mix-in flour, starch, baking powder and salt with handmixer.
4. Mix-in vanilla and milk. Beat till mixture is light yellow and smooth.
5. Line rectangular baking pan with wax paper and fill with batter.
6. Bake 30-35 minutes or till toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool 10 minutes, then flip cake over on cooling rack. This will flatten the bottom so the cake is even.
8. Cool at least 2 hours, room temperature.
9. Cut cake in half along the middle. Spread jam and raspberries over the center with spatula and re-assemble cake.
10. Cut into even squares, place in container and freeze overnight.
11. The next day, in double boiler on low heat, melt butter and chocolate, stirring frequently. Add milk, stirring often till smooth and then add icing sugar. Mix till smooth and consistency is thin, yet thick enough to coat cake. If it gets too thick, add a little bit more milk and stir till smooth.
12. Using two forks, dip cake squares into chocolate till coated.
13. With coconut ready in a shallow tray or plate, dip coated cake squares in coconut till covered. Quickly transfer to a platter to cool. Repeat till all cake squares are coated.
14. Once chocolate has set, transfer to air-tight container. You can freeze if not eating right away.
15. Let Lamingtons sit at room temperature for about 30-40 minutes before serving.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: CHERRY-ALMOND CAKE RECIPE
Cherry Almond Cake. We love a good, simple cake. And Cherry-Almond is one of my favourite nostalgic flavour combinations. This one is timely and festive. Ensure you use organic and pure flavourings, as extracts labelled “imitiation” flavouring can ruin it all. Enjoy this crunchy, crumbly, buttery perfection which would fit right into your Holiday baking rotation!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Almond Flour, sifted
1/2 cup White Flour, sifted
1/2 cup organic raw sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup almond slivers, toasted
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
1 tsp pure almond extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
12 Maraschino Cherries, pat dry
Canola oil
Additional flour
Instructions:
- 1. Set oven to 325°F. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes till creamy.
- 2. Add eggs, one at a time.
- 3. Add extracts and beat til creamy.
- 4. Add in flours, baking powder and salt.
- 5. Do not overmix, only mix till combined.
- 6. Gently grease baking pan and dust with flour.
- 7. Pour batter into pan. Place cherries on top of batter.
- 8. Cover with toasted almond slivers.
- 9. Bake for 35 minutes or till toothpick comes out clean. Cool 40 minutes before serving. Dust with icing sugar.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: MR. WILL X HUBIE HALLOWEEN
We are thrilled to collaborate with our friends at Netflix to bring you some super fun activities to help put you in that Halloween spirit. If there’s anything we need right now, it’s a lift! Netflix releases #HUBIEHALLOWEEN, starring Adam Sandler, on Wednesday October 7th. You can check out the trailer below. 🎃
We crafted a FUN SIZE SNACK PUMPKIN which will make a gorgeous, edible Halloween centerpiece and also a PUMPKIN FUN SIZE CHOCOLATE LOAF which tastes exactly like Fall should! You can add a bit of your personality to these and make these YOU with your favourites! We had so much fun putting this together with our friend Angela who generously leant us her gorgeous kitchen for this!
Fall is definitely our favourite season. We love Pumpkin and we whipped-up a PUMPKIN FUN SIZE CHOCOLATE LOAF which you can customize with your own favourite chocolates. Halloween Candy and Pumpkin Spice, together at last! Just remember to be super-careful when carving the bottom of the Pumpkin!
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup organic raw sugar
2 tsps cinnamon
2 tsps nutmeg
1 tsps ginger
2 tsps baking powder
2 tsps baking soda
1 1/2 tsps sea salt
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk
2 cups of pumpkin pulp (seeds removed)
1 cup chopped, assorted Halloween chocolates
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven at 350°F.
2. Grease baking pans (2-3 depending how large they are) lightly and dust with flour.
3. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars till creamy with handmixer.
4. Add eggs and beat till smooth.
5. In separate mixing bowl, combine spices, flour, baking powder and soda, plus salt.
6. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in large mixing bowl, mixing sparingly.
7. Using spatula, gently fold-in pumpkin pulp.
8. Using spatula, gently fold-in chopped chocolates.
9. Pour batter into baking pans and smoothen with spatula.
10. Bake 45-60 minutes, checking after 45 minutes with fork/toothpick for doneness. Once done, remove from oven and allow to cool for about 40 minutes before serving.
See our How-To Video:
A Carousel of fun:
Have fun and let us know what you think! Don’t forget, #HUBIEHALLOWEEN arrives on Netflix Wednesday, October 7, 2020!
More on HUBIE HALLOWEEN here.
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Netflix)
#COOKING: CLASSIC APPLE PIE RECIPE
Classic Apple Pie. As you might recall we went Apple Picking last week. What better way to celebrate the fruits (pardon the pun) of our labour than our Classic Apple Pie recipe? A flaky, buttery crust with chunky, tart and sweet Ontario apples in a goopy caramel-like filling. Autumn’s arrived. 🍎
Pie Pastry:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsps sea salt
1/2 cup butter, chilled
3/4 cup Crisco Golden All-Vegetable Shortening, room temperature
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg beaten, used as egg wash
Filling:
8 apples (we mixed McIntosh, Sweet 16 and Royal Gala), cored, peeled and cut into chunks and sprinkled with 1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup water
3 tbsps flour
1/4 cup organic raw sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsps cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions:
1. Prepare pastry, combining ingredients, adding water 1 tbsp at a time, handling minimally. Knead dough gently on floured surface. Roll into ball. Chill minimum 2 hours, no more than 5 days.
2. Prep filling. In saucepan, bring butter, 1/2 cup water and sugars to boil. In separate bowl, beat flour with 3 tbsps water to form a slurry. Whisk this quickly into the water/sugar mixture till thick. Remove from heat. Run through sieve if lumpy. Transfer to a bowl and mix-in cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 425°F.
4. Cut dough into halves. Shape into discs. Roll first half starting from center-outwards onto floured surface.
5. Fit dough into pie dish, covering edges. Fill shell with apple chunks and then pour sauce over top, covering evenly.
6. Take other half of dough and form circle large enough to cover top of pie dish, rolling center-outwards on floured surface. Use ruler and cut 10-12 equal size strips.
7. Layer strips, forming lattice over top of pie, sealing edges tight, pressing down with a fork.
8. Brush top of lattice using egg wash using brush or finger.
9. Place pie dish on baking sheet. Use foil and form a ring around edge of crust.
10. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F with pie in oven and bake another 35-40 minutes till golden. 10 minutes before finished, carefully remove foil ring.
11. Cool minimum 3 hours. Serve with ice cream.
Gallery:
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)
#COOKING: SALTY ‘N’ SWEET RICE KRISPIE TREATS RECIPE
Salty ‘n’ Sweet Rice Krispie Treats. You haven’t had a Rice Krispie Treat till you’ve had it done like this. These are dangerous. What a crunch! Sorry for any addictions that may result.
Ingredients:
5 cups Rice Krispies
3 cups Mini Marshmallows
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup cashews, broken
1 cup Original Pringles, crushed
1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions:
1. In large pot, melt butter with salt and 2 1/2 cups mini marshmallows over medium heat, stirring often.
2. Add-in peanut butter and stir till smooth.
3. Turn-off heat and add Rice Krispies, half of the Pringles and cashews. Stir with spatula till evenly combined.
4. Add-in remainder of marshmallows, careful not to stir too much.
5. Transfer mixture with spatula into a pan.
6. Press remainder of Pringles on-top till surface is even.
7. Cool at room temperature for about an hour. Cut into squares and serve. You can wrap each square individually in plastic wrap and store in air-tight container for about two days or you can freeze them.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
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